God Bears Our Burdens

 

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Devotion:

            Today, we delve into a passage that may resonate with many of us. It's a conversation with Jesus, where He shares His wisdom about the rewards of following His path. We all carry our own unique burdens and worries each day. But Jesus, in His infinite compassion, assures us that by embracing Him, we can find rest from these heavy loads.

            This burden-sharing Jesus speaks of in this passage was a revolutionary teaching for the Jewish people of His time. They were used to the scribes and other religious leaders adding spiritual tasks and burdens to them. Loads too great for anyone to bear alone. The list of laws and regulations they were given was so lengthy and complex that the average person was tempted to stop trying to keep them.

            The Jewish people are not alone in being oppressed by religious laws and regulations. People of all religions throughout history have had to bear heavy burdens. Religious leaders often try to legislate the proper behavior for their followers by adding rules on top of rules. Jesus came to put an end to that; however, throughout history, the Christian religion has offended Jesus by adding many rules and regulations.

            Jesus’ ultimate act of burden-bearing is seen on the cross He took to Calvary’s hill. On that cross, He bore the burden of all people's sins and successfully dealt with them. We can see the beautiful simplicity of Jesus's way in one incident from that scene at the cross. One of the two thieves crucified with Jesus declared, as best he knew, faith in who Jesus was. Jesus responded by announcing that that thief would be with Him in paradise. Nothing else was needed for that thief; his belief and confession of that faith were enough for eternal life in heaven with Jesus.

            This is not to say that all religious rules and regulations are bad. They are often helpful in setting appropriate boundaries for behavior. However, they are not the mainstay of the Christian religion. We should always remember that Jesus never promised us no burdens, but only that our burdens would be light and easy to bear. Laws and regulations were never meant to replace loving and following Jesus. We must take up our cross (our burden) and follow Him.

Prayer:

            Jesus, thank you for removing the heavy burden of the law and replacing it with grace. Help us to know and live into your kingdom's vision of loving servants worshiping their God out of love, not fear or obligation. You have freed us to love and serve you instead of men’s rules. Please help us to glorify you in all we say and do. May we proclaim your Holy Name to a suffering and dying world. Amen.